Bovine TB back on radar after slaughtered B.C. cow tests positive

Canada’s cattle industry is again anxiously awaiting the results after another case of bovine tuberculosis has been confirmed.

This time it was cow slaughtered in a federal facility on Oct. 26 in Alberta, but traced back to a farm in the southern B.C. interior. No specific location was provided by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency or the B.C. government, which are conducting a joint investigation.

A lab test confirmed the disease in a mature cow on Nov. 9, with the CFIA noting no portion of the animal entered the food chain.

“This finding has not impacted Canada’s TB-free status,” noted a release on the CFIA website.

There are no exact numbers of herds and animals that may have been exposed yet.

To date, only the one cow with bovine tuberculosis has been confirmed, though testing of the herd where the animal originated continues.

However, on their website, the agency says six herds in both B.C. and Alberta have been placed under restricted movement controls for testing purposes.

This case does not appear to be connected to the six positive cases from a ranch near Lethbridge in 2016 that resulted in the destruction of more than 12,000 cattle with producers compensated with $16.7 million.